Second Meeting
by porcelain Hell
Summary: When Nico was young he considered a boy with curly hair and a huge smile to be his best friend. He didn't know the boy for long, he didn't even know his name, before the boy vanished. Nico grew up and the world seemed to be against him. He landed himself in a school for 'troubled' kids, and his room mate is irritatingly happy. THIS IS AN AU!
1. In which Nico wrecks a library

**DISCLAIMER:** I do NOT own the characters...or the books;(

~~~oOo~~~

When Nico was in kindergarten he wasn't a very social kid. It wasn't that he didn't like people. It was more that he didn't know how to interact with them. He'd grown up, to that point, with his sister always being there for him. She was always with him, wherever they went, whenever they went. No matter what. And he always chose her company over that of children his own age. It worked out just fine. Until school came along. Preschool wasn't too bad. It was only for a couple hours a day, and you didn't do much other than sit around and build with blocks or eat a slice of apple or something. But Kindergarten was different.

Nico was expected to play with the other children, to talk with them, even to work on projects with them. But the worst part by far was recess. Since the class was only from noon to three, there was no need for a lunch, but they still got a recess. It seemed like each session went on for hours. Nico usually sat on top of the grassy hill, leaning against the fence of the playground, watching the other kids play. He'd spent the first one looking for his sister there. She'd said that's where she'd meet him during recess. He never found her. And that night, she explained to him that they had different recesses.

For the first month of school, Nico sat on his hill and played a card game, Mythomagic. He didn't really mind. As long as Bianca, his sister, was there to play with after school, he didn't see why it mattered if he had friends at school. He was fine sitting alone playing with cards, watching as other kids ran around together.

Then, one day, a boy who must've been closer to Bianca's age then Nico's ran up the hill and plopped down next to him. The boy's elfish ears poked through a mess of curly black hair, his eyes were brown and his smile took up his whole face. Nico was slightly taken aback that anyone would come sit with him, and even more surprised that it was clearly an older kid who'd decided to come over. Even in kindergarten, it was a well known fact that older kids were too cool to so much as talk to younger ones.

"Hi!" The boy greeted him, practically bouncing up and down. Nico had meant to speak, but before he could the boy spoke again, "What's that you're playing?"

"Uhh...a card game."

"Awesome! Show me how it works?" And that was how their strange friendship began. Everyday at recess the boy would come and find him. They'd play Mythomagic, and sometimes they'd just talk. It lasted until near the end of the year. One day, the boy wasn't anywhere. He wasn't there next day, either. A week passed, and still he was missing. Nico never saw the boy again. He hadn't even exchanged names with the person he considered his best friend(after Bianca, of course).

Over the next four years Nico made friends. Not many, but he was completely happy with the three he had. Plus Bianca. And things were going pretty well, until the winter of fourth grade. That was when things changed. Again. Bianca had been...off almost that entire year. She was more easily upset, and she talked and smiled less. And, during christmas break, a strange lady who introduced herself as Miss A. came to visit. She talked with everyone in the family, except for Nico. He was told that the discussion had nothing to do with him. Once Miss A. left, Nico was beckoned into the family room.

"Bianca has made a decision to go to boarding school," his mother started to explain. He learned that she was going to an all girls boarding school, a school with a wonderful archery and hunting program. Nico didn't know why Bianca would want to go to such a place. First off, she had never shown any interest in hunting, so why go to a school for hunting? And then, and most importantly, it was boarding school as in not at home with her family like she should be. Nico yelled at her, told her that she was dumb, asked her how she could abandon him. She kept trying to explain, but Nico would have none of it. He went to his room and locked the door. When he came out the next day, Bianca had already left for school.

About a month went by before the next blow was delivered. He came home from a Mythomagic tournament to find his mother in tears, and his father comforting her gravely. He was scared, as he should've been, to go to his parents and ask what had happened. He didn't need to. His father walked to him, got down on his knees and looked into Nico's eyes.

"Bianca has died," was all he said. Those words were probably what changed his life the most. He never found out the details of her death. Something about an important hunting trip and a heroic sacrifice on her part. Three days after the horrid news, a small package arrived for Nico. FromBianca. It had been sent the day she died. He didn't open it. He couldn't. He shoved it in the pocket of his too-big jacket and left it there.

After his sister's death, Nico withdrew from people. He lost the three friends he had. More of pushed them away, really. He stopped playing Mythomagic. Most his cards got torn up in fits of fury and got tossed about his room.

Four years passed and he couldn't have been more different then he was eight years ago. He was always alone, but now he was unapproachable. Gloomy. Always scowling. Never smiling. He never played any sort of game. Mostly, he read. And when he wasn't reading, he was taking his anger out on a punching bag.

He liked to read. Especially leatherbound books. They were his favorite, no matter what the actual book was. This was because of Bianca. She'd always said how beautiful the leather bound books were, the ones with the gold leafed paper and built in ribbon bookmarks. Nico liked to read them for her. To feel a connection with his big sister, even if it was through reading musty old books.

Because of his recent love for literature, Nico spent most his time in some library or another. He was in the school library, eating lunch, when AJ and Griffin came in.

"Hey, Death Boy," AJ called. Nico inwardly rolled his eyes. People often assumed he was Goth, Emo, Punk or into death. But he wasn't. He wore dark colors, mostly black, and a big, dark brown aviator jacket, and his hair was shaggy because he didn't care enough to do anything with it other then cut it off with his pocket knife when it got in his way. That did not make him some devil worshipper. But, whatever. Like he cared what these dumb shits thought of him.

"You better pay attention when we talk to you!" Griffin warned.

"What do you want?" Easier to just talk with them. They wouldn't give up and just leave.

"You had a sister, right?" Griffin asked, smiling in the way that meant he knew Nico was sour around that subject.

"Don't." He said simply, trying to turn away before anything happened.

"I heard she swore off boys before she died," AJ sneered.

"Does that mean she went lesbian? Shame about that. She was a hot one."

"Deffinitly worth a night."

"If she weren't dead, I think I could turn her straight," Griffin gloated.

Nico was really trying to ignore them. His way out was blocked. He was trapped in an isle of books with one jackass blocking one end. Their comments weren't new. Since Bianca's death, Nico ad heard that she'd publicly declared she would never mingle with men. So the whole lesbian thing wasn't a surprising rummar. The thing was, Nico honestly couldn't have cared less what gender of lover his sister wanted. She could've fallen in love with a horse and he'd've been happy. He just wanted her alive.

"I wonder what happened to make her hate guys..." AJ again.

"Hmmm...I've heard some pretty interesting things about that,"

Nico clenched his hands into fists. He didn't want to gt into a fight. Well, yes, he did. But he knew he couldn't afford to. He'd been doing so well lately. He hardly ever got into arguments, and even fewer physical brawls. He only got sent to the office a few times a month. With the idiots he was forced to be around, he was proud of himself for not even killing anyone. But the last time he'd talked to the principal, she'd warned him that he shouldn't push his luck, he could still get expelled. Nico found the 'push your luck' bit ironic. Because he was so lucky.

"Do tell me what you've heard about it, Griffin."

"Why, certainly, AJ. You see, I hear that her father-" That's when Nico broke. He didn't need to hear the rest of that statement, he already knew where it was going. But he wished he didn't. He charged at Griffin, slamming him into a bookshelf, causing the whole thing to collapse. He kicked him hard in the gut, then ran at AJ and punched him in the face. He heard the librarian screaming, but he didn't stop. He kept punching and kicking until he was pulled away by the PE teacher.

"My office, NOW!" The principal, Mrs. Alps, yelled at Nico. He shuffled towards the door, then looked back at the Ms. Jayne, the librarian

"I'm sorry about the library. I hadn't meant to harm it." His apologie got a startled half smile out of her.

~~~oOo~~~

Nico sat slouched in his regular chair in the office. His parents were having a heated discussion with Mrs. Alps, but he couldn't be bothered to listen in. Later in the evening, when he was told that he'd been expelled, it came as no real shock. He didn't care. He'd miss the library, and Ms. Jayne, but that was it. his parents, on the other hand, were furious.

"Nico, how many times have we had this talk?" His mom asked, stern, but tired.

"I've lost count," Nico shrugged.

"You're getting out of control," his father stepped in, "and your mother and I think it's best if we send you to a private school for...troubled children such as yourself."

"Fine."

"Go upstairs and pack, you leave in two days."

Nico did as he was told. He didn't have much to pack, so he was finished and ready to go before he even went to bed that night. His bag was mostly filled books. He figured he'd need them. Especially if he was expected to deal with 'troubled' kids.


	2. In which Leo smiles A lot

**DISCLAIMER: **I OWNE NOTHING! If I did, trust me, you'd know. There'd be a good amount of slash and a butt load of fluff.

~~~oOo~~~

Nico followed the boy, Howard, down a long hall with a lot of doors, probably leading off into dorm rooms. So far, Crapemyrtle Academy had proven to be a pretty creepy place. Nico wasn't scared, but it was undeniably creepy. It was old and big, and looked more like a castle then a school. Or maybe one of those old fashioned churches. Nico'd gone to one once for a field trip, and the feeling he got here was more or less the same as the one he got there.

"Here we are," Howard stopped at one of doors, one with a big, faded 49 on it. Howard unlocked the door then tossed Nico the key, "You'll be rooming with a Sophomore because there aren't any other rooms available, good luck, kid." He started to walk off, then turned to say one last thing, "And one more thing, short stuff, if I were you, I wouldn't touch a thing in that room other than the empty bed. Valdez has a thing for booby traps and explosions."

Nico watched Howard retreat down the hallway. Great. Just great. He had a crazy explosives sophomore for a roommate. That was just about the only thing he had learned from the two hour tour with Howard. They'd gone around the school, poking their heads into random, irrelevant classrooms, such as the AP English 12 class. Nico had no idea why it was necessary to drop in there seeing as he was only 14. But that hadn't been as weird as when Howard marched him into the girl's locker room and then promptly told him that he should never visit the girl's locker room, because the girls weren't exactly forgiving about it. Nico got about eleven shoes, three hair brushed, five deodorant sticks and a bra thrown at him during his stay. He would not be going again.

And so, here he was, the evening before he was expected to start classes without knowing a thing of importance. They hadn't even been to any of the classes Nico actually had. He sighed and hunkered down on the empty bed. His bag had been dropped at it's side, probably while Nico was on his grand and useless adventure with Howard. But there wasn't much Nico could do about that now. So he rifled through his bag and drew out a beautiful leather bound book. He leaned back on his bed and opened the book.

~~~oOo~~~

Nico heard the door open. He didn't even glance up from his book.

"You must be Nico de Angelo!" The voice was chipper. Nico ignored it. But his roommate didn't take the hint, "I'm Leo Valdez, nice to meet you!" This boy really was much too happy. Nico elected to continue reading. "Judging by how this room, and the school, is still intact, I take it that you aren't particularly nosey." Nico hardly even registered what Leo was saying that time. But he kept going, "That a good book? It must be for you to be so into it. Nice binding too."

Nico still kept his eyes glued to his book. What was it that people didn't get about the whole not talking to someone who is busy thing? It was pretty obvious that Nico was busy reading his book, and therefor Leo should've left him alone. But the boy refused to. It was aggravating.

"What book is it?" No reply. "You a big reader, then?" Okay, by now it should've been plain for Leo to see that Nico did not have any interest in taking. He should've just given up and stopped talking. But he didn't. And if he kept it up, Nico might be forced to interact with him. And that would be fun. Because Nico just adored people.

"So, how'd you get landed here?" Leo asked. Silence. "You know, this is when you're supposed to answer me. Actually, there have been a number of openings were you could've, even should've talked to me," he pointed out, chuckling good naturedly.

"Then by now you should've gathered that I. Do. Not. Want. To. Talk." Nico hardly even looked at his irritatingly social roommate as he said it. But he did glimpse black curls pouring from the boy's head, and a smile that seemed as if it was there to stay.

"Aw, c'mon man. No need to be so mean. I'm just trying to hold up polite conversation, and you, sir, are making it very difficult." There was a smile in his voice. If Nico was making conversation difficult, he needed to step it up a notch, make it impossible. He refused to say another word.

It seemed to be working. Leo had stopped talking, but Nico was almost positive that he was watching him, with that stupid smile still in place. Nico kept reading. He didn't notice that Leo had been edging closer until the boy was ten inches from his face. Staring. Smiling. Was he even blinking? Nico slammed his book shut so hard that it made Leo jump, but he regained control at once.

"Stop it." Nico demanded, glaring at Leo. Leo's smile got even bigger.

"You told me you didn't want to talk," he didn't budge from his spot.

"Right. So, staring at me like a creeper is obviously the thing to do."

"Absolutely."

"Are you really that bored?"

"I'm always bored. But you seem interesting enough."

"You don't know a thing about me."

"Exactly! Well, almost. I know you like books, and probably hate people. Or maybe today's just not your day. Or you could just hate me personally."

"Alright, I like books. I hate people. Today is not my day. And I am very close to personally hating you. There, now you all you need to. So get away fro me." Nico didn't wait for an answer, he just reopened his book and continued to read. He heard Leo laugh, but thankfully, the boy backed off and went to tinkering with something at the desk. Nico really hoped that not everyone in this stupid school was as social and persistent as his roommate. And he wouldn't mind if they didn't smile as much. It was unnerving, having someone smile at you all the time.


	3. In Which Nico is an Alibi

**DISCLAIMER: **I sadly own nothing. If I did, This wouldn't be a fanfiction, would it?

A/N: I AM REALLY SORRY! I feel so guilty. I should really treat all of you lovely people better by giving you constant updates. But I don't. So I'm sorry, and I really do plan on working on being more reliable. Anyway, here you are!

~~~oOo~~~

Nico was woken up the next morning by what sounded like an explosion. Now, most people would jump out of bed if they thought there was danger. Not Nico Di Angelo. No way. He was not a morning person, and nothing, not even the threat of death, could make him jump out of bed. No, instead he groggily turned over to face the room, wiping the sleep away from his eyes as he scanned his surroundings. He spotted the source of the explosion at once. It came from Leo's side of the room(really, where else would it have come from?), next to the boy's bed there was a blackened and smoking...thing. Leo was standing next to it, brushing soot off his jeans and smiling sheepishly.

"How are you still alive?" Nico asked, finally sitting up.

"What?" Leo looked rather surprised that Nico was up. Nico didn't know why, seeing as there _had_ been an explosion, and that wakes anyone up.

"I am wondering how you haven't killed yourself yet." Leo blinked at him for a bit, then broke out in a grin.

"Oh you know, I have major skills in the 'staying alive' department. Although, I might have exploded my last roommate," he winked at Nico with a smile. Nico scowled back.

"Right. Well, you've managed to steal," Nico checked his watch, "ten good minutes of my sleep. I will get you back for that." He stomped out of bed and into the bathroom to get ready, he heard Leo mutter a 'Ohhh, now I'm really scared' but didn't bother to respond.

~~~oOo~~~

When Nico was finished getting ready, his roommate was already gone. It occurred to Nico that asking Leo for help would have been a smart move. Not that he would have asked the annoying shit for help if he'd thought of it any sooner, but it was nice to be grumpy about everything that there was to be grumpy about. Nico grabbed his bag and headed out into the great beyond. He got lost immediately. He hadn't even made his way out of the dorms when he heard a bell ring through the empty halls.

"Great. Just great." He muttered to himself as he turned in the direction he'd come, planning on finding his way back to his room and falling back into bed. He'd try this again tomorrow. Maybe. Or he could just not go to any classes and see how long it took to be expelled. _Then_ he could try again. At a different school. Hopefully with a better layout, a more helpful tour guide, and a less irritating roommate. With any luck, no roommate at all. Nico liked this idea more and more and decided that it was definitely the way to go. He'd made it back to his hall when a certain smiling pyromaniac appeared. Except he wasn't smiling in any sane sort of way. He looked completely crazy, smiling like a madman and running full speed. Right at Nico. Nico tried to dive out of the way before Leo got to him, but he didn't make it, instead Leo grabbed his arm and pulled him along with a mad cackle. Nico was forced to run along or fall flat on his face. As much as he hated running, he figured it was better than falling. So he ran. Leo tugged him into the first bathroom they came across(boys', thankfully). They both stood there, heaving, Leo still smiling like a maniac.

"What is happening?" Nico finally spat out, pulling his arm from Leo's grip. Leo gave one last huge smile before turning deathly serious.

"Absolutely nothing. I am helping you around the school today because Howard's useless. And, as your roommate, it is my responsibility to help you through your first day. We took a break from your English class because you needed to use the bathroom."

"Wait...how did you know I'm supposed to be in English?" It was only one of the things that Nico was confused about, but he had a suspicion that Leo had been snooping about his stuff last night. Leo's brief smile confirmed his suspicion. "You went through my things. You set traps on yours and then you look through mine! You hypocritical-" He didn't have time to finish because Leo had grabbed his arm again and was propelling them out of the door.

"Alright, now you know how to get to the bathroom. Let's get back to the class. Do you remember where it is?" Leo was using his best snooty-teacher/condescending voice.

"I don't." Nico managed through gritted teeth. He was still fuzzy on what was happening. When he and Leo rounded a corner, they almost ran into a very aggravated looking teacher and two older boys.

"Valdez," the teacher said, her voice conveying that she'd love to cut him into a million little pieces, "I know you were behind this so lets make this easy, shall we?" Then Nico understood. Leo had done something. And Nico was his alibi.

"Sorry, ma'am, but I believe you're mistaken. I've been with my new roommate, Nico here, all day. Making sure he gets to his classes and such." The teacher looked to Nico. He wanted to deny it. He really did. But for some reason the wrong words came out of his mouth.

"He's been with me all day, we were just going back to English now." Is what his stupid mouth decided to say. The lady frowned and then turned on her heels, the boys following behind her.

"Thanks, man. And there I was thinking that you were gonna make me pay for your ten minutes of sleep." Leo was back to non stop smiling. Nico turned to him and glared.

"I will get you back. For my sleep, for your invasion of my privacy. And just because I dislike you. The thing is, you don't know how I'll get you, or when." He wanted to stalk off, but he didn't know where to go. "Now, take me to the stupid English room."

"Of course, my good sir. Right this way." Leo flourished his arm down the hall with a deep bow.


	4. In Which Nico Starts Pranking

**DISCLAIMER: **Everything belongs to good old Uncle Rick. Although I disagree with his lack of Leco, I can do nothing about it. Other than write fanfiction. Which I am obviously doing.

~~~oOo~~~

Nico's whole 'get expelled and try a different school' plan had hardly worked. Okay, it had completely failed. But at least he knew how to get around the stupid school now. More or less. And anyway, he had a promise to keep. Or more of a threat. Point is, he had to get back at Leo. And even though he maybe wasn't sure exactly how he was going to do that, he would figure it out.

It was dinner time, and Nico had grabbed food and was now sitting at a corner table as far from people as he could. That's how he liked it. Alone. Of course, Leo ruined that plan as well. The boy happily trotted up to him and just sat down. And he was completely inside Nico's personal bubble. Nico was about to snap at Leo and insist he leave, but Leo spoke first.

"Aren't you gonna ask?"

"No." Nico didn't know what Leo was talking about, but he didn't care at all. He figured just saying no would get Leo to leave.

"You must be curious. I mean, come on, you were my get away. You must want to know what you got me away from." Leo nudged him playfully with his shoulder. Nico carefully scooted away from him.

"Not at all."

"Not even a little?" Leo looked at him, and Nico saw amusement and curiosity in his eyes.

"No." That was kind of a lie. Nico almost wondered what Leo had done. But not enough to deal with a conversation. And it wasn't a far fetched guess that Leo had just exploded something. Leo laughed and shook his head.

"You are one very interesting little dude."

"Why? Because I don't care to hear about every second of your day?"

"Hmmm, well that's strange too, but I'd been talking about you in general." Leo ruffled his hair. Nico hated people touching him, or his hair. And it was about then that Nico realized that Leo had somehow gotten into his personal bubble again. He was about to scoot over more, but he was sitting at the edge of the bench. So he tried pushing Leo away. This caused Leo to burst out into loud laughter and splutter, "Man, you are a riot!"

"Fine," Nico stood up and tried storming away. Notice the use of the word 'tried'. Leo, once again, made 'did' into 'tried'. He grabbed Nico as he was leaving, pulling him back onto the bench on his other side. He kept an arm around Nico's shoulders to keep him there. He was still laughing.

"Sorry dude, I didn't realize you were one of those personal space junkies."

"Yes you did. In fact, that probably makes you want to invade my personal space even more. Like you are now." Nico glared at Leo and attempted to shrug off his arm. Leo tightened his grip, and his smile grew.

"Okay, I'll admit to that. But you make the cutest grumpy faces when I piss you off." That was definitely the first time Nico's 'grumpy faces' had been called cute. He'd actually been pulled aside by cops and checked to make sure he wasn't carrying a gun and planning on killing people. He decided that he wasn't a fan of being called cute.

"Let go." He hissed.

"See? You make it too easy, man. What do you expect?" Nico didn't know how to respond. So he didn't. He sat through the rest of dinner trying to keep a straight face. Leo would still occasionally look over at him and laugh. All the while, trying to get conversation started again. But Nico refused to speak. Instead, he thought up plans to get back at Leo. Most of them involved killing him, or severely injuring him. Unfortunately, Nico knew that those were all out. The rest were all petty and stupid. But hey, those were always fun.

~~~oOo~~~

When Nico got out of Leo's grasp he headed right for their room. He prepped for his pranks(yes, he was going in the direction of a series of stupid pranks) and then read. Soon enough, Leo came in from dinner. Nico was pleased when he made no effort to talk, he just hummed and got ready for bed.

Luckily, Leo slept like a rock. The guy pretty much fell into bed and was as good as dead. Nico had already set up most of the pranks, the obvious and over used ones that were still pains in the ass. Ones like gluing all of Leo's shampoo/conditioner/soap bottles shut, hiding all of his left shoes, pouring glitter in his hairbrush(something that he'd seen in the campus store and gotten. Nico Di Angelo did not carry around glitter), and putting hard candy in the shower head. He'd needed to wait for Leo to get back so that he could replace all the tools in the tool-belt he always wore(really, who does that?) with fruit. When Nico went into the bathroom to duct tape the tools on the top of the inside of their bathroom cabinet(because no one would look there), he noticed two bathroom bags neatly tucked away in the corner. One was purple with horses running across it and the name _Hazel Levesque_ was written along the top in looping writing. The second one was an orange and red patterned bag that gave Nico a headache just looking at it. It took a minute for his eyes to search out the hastily scribbled _Piper McLean_ that sprawled across the front of the bag. Nico briefly wondered who the owners' of the bags were. Both were girls, obviously. But beyond that? Nico had no clue. And it wasn't his place to wonder either.

He closed the cabinet and was halfway to bed when a new prank idea hit him. He went back to the cabinet and looked through the bags(in a non-creepy way). After sifting through feminine products(Bianca had had them, so it wasn't anything new), he found what he'd been looking for: lipstick. He smiled as he walked back to his sleeping roommate. He hoped that one of the girls was Leo's girlfriend. That would make things more interesting.


	5. In Which Nico Makes Friends(kinda)

**DISCLAIMER: **These characters do not belong to me. Sometimes I cry about it, but that doesn't change a thing.

~~~oOo~~~

Nico woke up right when he wanted to, so that was a plus. And a great start to what he was sure would be a great day. And Nico hated most days. He never anticipated great days, and he never got them. But today was different. Leo was already up, and Nico almost smiled when he saw him. Great day, indeed. Leo was fiddling with the black out curtains Nico had put up last night. Nico was not a fan of light, especially when it woke him up in the mornings.

"What is this?" Leo didn't sound all too pleased. He seemed to be having a hard time pulling the curtains open. "Is this a prank or something? To get back at me, or whatever? Because I gotta say, it's lame."

"That's not something I did to irritate you. I did that for my own comfort." Nico now felt like laughing. He'd safety pinned the curtains together to keep out that aggravating crack of light that sneaks in between them. But it pissing Leo off was a great bonus.

"Why won't it open?" Leo demanded.

"Magic. Anyway, if you can't figure out how to open curtains, you really are a danger to yourself." Nico made his way into the bathroom to get ready.

As he came out, he saw that Leo had successfully opened the curtains. He was leaning against the wall looking mighty proud of himself. Nico wasn't sure if it was hilarious or pathetic. He went with both.

"Safety Pins! Who does that? Pins the curtains together, I mean."

"I don't like light. And I will be pinning them again tonight." Nico informed him as he headed for the door. Leo laughed.

"What are you, a vampire?"

~~~oOo~~~

Unfortunately, Leo was a year ahead of Nico, and so they shared no classes. Usually, this was a good thing. No one bothered, or even got near him during the day, and that was the way he liked it. But today was different. He wanted to watch his pranks unfold. He'd had to miss the first bit in the morning because being confronted about it so early in the game would be no fun. However, people had been talking excitedly and laughing a lot, and Nico was pretty sure that they were glancing his way. Obviously, Leo hadn't been able to clean up after all of the traps he'd set. And Nico was fully looking forward to lunch when he'd be able to see his handiwork in the flesh. As it was, he'd only finished up second period, and still had third to go. While walking to his art foundations two class(required by the school) he was stopped by a tall boy with sea-green eyes and black hair. And he was smiling. Nico had learned that smiling people were never people he liked.

"You're Leo's new roommate, right?" The boy asked. Nico nodded. "So that was you, right?" Nico waited for him to expand on what he meant. He did, "You pranked him and stuff?"

"Yes," Nico couldn't help but smile a little. The boy laughed.

"I'm Percy Jackson, and I think I like you, kid. What'd he do to earn your wrath?"

"He's annoying and just plain deserved it, beyond that, he violated my personal property and space, as well as woke me up early."

"Yup, I definitely like you. Nico, right? Leo was cursing at you earlier. It's been awhile since someone caused an uproar, so it was only a matter of time before someone started something. And it doesn't get much better than a prank war."

"It wasn't my intention to start a war." Although it made no difference to him. So long as he got even with Leo, it was all good.

"At this school, we grab onto any excuse to cause trouble." Percy informed him.

"The teacher's must love their lives." Nico muttered. Percy laughed.

"You'll never meet happier people." And with that Percy turned down a different hall and Nico decided that maybe that particular smiling person wasn't so bad.

When Nico got to class he sat down at the table in the back of the room and waited for the bell to ring. To his surprise, someone sat down next to him. Another smiling person. Though, he had had good luck with them today, so perhaps this wouldn't be too horrible. He frowned at his own optimism. The girl who'd sat down was a pretty, but young looking, black girl with lively and kind eyes.

"Hi, I'm Hazel. You're Nico, right?" Well, wasn't he popular today.

"Mhm," was his brilliant way of answering. But the girl's name seemed familiar. Hazel. Was she Hazel Levesque? The owner of one of the bags from last night? He almost asked, but didn't. That would be too creepy. '_Hey, do you happen to have a bathroom bag under the sink in my room?'_

"I'm Leo's friend," She paused to laugh, "and I must say that I _love _his new makeover, you did a great job with it."

"Who says I did anything?"

"Leo does. Only half the school completely believes that, though." When Nico said nothing, she kept speaking(Nico really wished people would just let a conversation die), "You're new, aren't you?"

"It's my second day here," Nico confirmed.

"And you've already caused trouble. That's pretty impressive. You're a sophomore, right? Like Leo?"

"No. They put me in his room because it was the only one that wasn't full. Technically I'm suppose to be in eighth grade, but my parents wanted me at this school, so I took a test and basically skipped a grade, so I'm a freshman." Nico usually didn't offer information about himself, and was annoyed that he'd said so much. But Hazel smiled.

"Really? I'm meant to be in seventh grade! But my step dad works here, and he pulled some strings to get me into ninth grade here."

Class started, and Hazel talked to him occasionally, but thankfully let the conversations die without a fight. Nico found that he didn't mind her company. They had to make sketchbooks with a personalized cover. Hazel drew horses on hers, and that made Nico sure that she was the Hazel he'd thought. He drew greek gods at war, complete with casualties. Hazel leaned over as he was starting to color(that was part of the assignment, although Nico would've liked it to stay in simple pencil. He settled on dark colors).

"That's really good! Where'd you learn to draw like that?" Nico didn't feel like sharing that he took drawing classes when he was younger so that he could make detailed comics of Mythomagic. So he just shrugged and murmured an awkward thanks. When the bell rang, Hazel insisted they have lunch together, telling him that her friend really wanted to meet the person that'd pranked Leo Valdez. Nico wanted to refuse, but he couldn't say no to Hazel, which angered him greatly. Hazel sat him down at a table with a girl she had called Piper. Probably the owner of the other bag. The girls started talking, and Nico was relieved that they kept him out of it for the most part.

"God, it's surprising every time I see him," Piper laughed. Nico barely registered that she meant Leo when a voice rang across the cafeteria.

"NICO DI ANGELO YOU ARE ONE DEAD LITTLE BASTARD!" Nico didn't have to turn to know that Leo was stomping towards him, and he smiled.


	6. In Which Leo Looks Like a Whore

**DISCLAIMER: **I own nothing. I'm crossing my fingers for Christmas, though;)

Also, just saying, there is swearing in this, so yeah.

~~~oOo~~~

Nico swiveled in his seat to watch as Leo made his way through the, now very quiet, eating area. His smile turned to a grin. Leo was fuming, his face was red and he was making some very interesting gestures. Glitter flew from Leo's hair(which Nico had slicked back the night before, and now looked rather rumpled), creating a trail of sparkles behind him, and his toolbelt was half empty and half filled with fruit. But the best part was that he was covered in phone numbers and lipstick marks. Nico had also provided him with some fake hickeys(Nico's mom had a makeup guy that had taught Nico some fun costume makeup tricks), as well as a specially modified colored, low plunging v-neck shirt(his other shirts were hidden in pillow cases). He looked like an angry stripper. Or gigolo. Nico thought that a dildo super-glued to Leo's tool belt would really have topped off the look, but unfortunately(or rather, fortunately) he had been unable to find one.

"Good afternoon. I see you had a fun night," Nico said pleasantly when Leo arrived, towering over him in his seat.

"Fuck you," Leo snarled. Hazel gasped at his foul language.

"I don't think you are in need of anymore fucking. So thanks, but no thanks." Nico's grin was still in place, and Hazel was now fanning herself with her hand profusely. Piper tried to cover a laugh and Leo went red. Or _more _red, really. He reached for the spot in his belt that usually held a hammer. Nico raised his eyebrows, "You're going to beat me with a banana?" Leo paused for a moment, then he shrugged, grabbed the banana out of his belt and threw it at Nico. Nico hadn't been expecting that, but he picked up the fruit and peeled it. He muttered 'kinky' right before taking a bite.

"Seriously man, what the hell is wrong with you?" Leo demanded.

"Why, whatever do you mean?" Nico asked innocently, still eating the banana.

"Oh don't go playing that game, you little shit. I know you're demon spawn!"

"Hmm. Good point. But I don't know why you're bringing it up now. I haven't done a thing to you. But, I do hear that karma's a bitch."

"So, let me get this straight. I wake you up _ten minutes_ early, so you hide my tools, fuck up the shower, and make me look like some man whore?"

"That doesn't sound quite fair, now does it? Ten minutes of sleep is worth much more than that. I might have to have a talk with karma." Nico got up, intending to throw away his banana peel, but Leo grabbed his jacket and leaned into Nico's ear.

"I will _accidentally_ set off an explosion that catches you and your stupid books on fire." His whisper was so quiet that Nico barely heard it. It was hard to believe that such a loud guy could be almost inaudible. Leo shoved Nico hard and then stormed off again, speaking loudly in Spanish(most likely more words that Hazel would gasp at).

"What did he say?" Piper asked.

"I think he just threatened to kill me."

"Like, seriously, or joking?"

"Sounded pretty serious to me."

"Maybe you shouldn't go to your room until he calms down." Hazel said, brow furrowed in concern.

"And leave the psycho alone with my books? No way. Besides, I don't back down from a challenge. It's not like he'll actually kill me."

"He might." Hazel insisted.

"Nico's right. Probably." Piper chimed in.

~~~oOo~~~

When Nico got back to his room, Leo was already there, lounging on his bed. He looked the same as he had that afternoon. He clearly had not managed to scrub off the makeup or sharpie, and his hair was still haphazardly gelled and completely glittery(Nico assumed that he hadn't figured out what was wrong with the shower beyond that it was sticky, so he hadn't been able to wash his hair). And his shirts and tools still seemed to be missing. Nico smiled again. It was hard not to, looking at Leo. Okay, that sounded wrong. It was hard not to smile when looking at something so ridiculous. There, much better.

"Go ahead and smile. Might as well make up for lost time before you're dead." Leo said, face completely serious.

"You don't have the guts to kill, or deal with the aftermath of murder. So stop trying to be a badass, and shut up."

"You know what? You suck. I am a very nice person. Or at least an insanely awesome one-"

"The 'insane' bit is all you got right."

"-and I was nice to you. Even though you're an ass. A grumpy, poopy ass. I was happily being your friend! And you just threw that niceness I was giving you away! Because I happened to know you have English first period, and I woke you up a bit early. You have been promoted from regular grumpy poopy ass to The Mega Lord Of Poopiness And Asshattery And Stupidness And Grumpiness And Over-Reacting-Drama-Queeness and I hate you."

"You done?" Nico asked, not at all offended, his smile hadn't even faded. Leo didn't answer so Nico went over to his own bed and pulled out a book. He saw Leo glance at him from the corner of his eye, but didn't react. It wasn't very long before Leo started to talk again. He must really love the sound of his own voice.

"Are they real?"

"Unicorns? Leprechauns? Elves? Cats? Are what real?" Nico glanced up from _The Jungle Book_ and gave his attention to Leo, he was fun to look at, after all.

"The hickeys. I've been trying to get them of all day, but they won't budge. So, are they fake, or...?" Leo waggled his eyebrows suggestively. That wasn't what Nico had been expecting. In fact, it hadn't even occurred to him that Leo would even wonder _how_ Nico had gotten him to look that way. His smile turned to a tight frown and he felt a blush creep up his back.

"No. They're not real. But it should be awhile before they come off."

"Right. Thought I'd check, because I would've slept through that, you know? And what about the phone numbers? Did you hide yours in this mess?" He gestured along his arms.

"No."

"Are you sure?"

"Do you think that this was my way of elaborately hitting on you, or something?-"

"Well, it would be understandable-"

"Because it's not. No, I did not give you hickeys. No, I did not give you my number. No, I am _not_ hitting on you."

"You can say that, but think about. You must have had to kiss me-"

"I never-"

"Yes. You did." Leo pointed to a few of the lipstick smears and kiss marks that covered him, then raised his eyebrows at Nico. "There is no way you can convince me that you made perfect kiss marks without using lips. And you didn't know the girls 'till today, so no way did you get them to lend you their lips. Wow, that came out wrong. But you know what I mean."

Nico was completely red. Yes, he had had to wear the damn lipsticks(several because multiple colors made the whole whore thing more convincing) and... And, well, kiss Leo(in a non romantic way, it was all for the greater good and _had _to be done). "I did what was necessary to get what I wanted," he said steadily, the blush finally easing up.

"You mean Leo lovin'?" Leo's eyebrows went back to suggestively waggling. Nico's blush returned. And then he realized that Leo wasn't even upset anymore, and that made him mad. Because now Leo was the one having fun(his eyebrow waggling marathon had yet to end, and he was smiling full on).

Nico ignored him for the rest of the evening, which was mostly spent doing homework, and some reading. When the lights were off and he was almost asleep, he heard Leo say, "I'm still not above setting you on fire." He figured that maybe he should be a little worried. Not enough to do anything about it, but still.


	7. In Which Nico Throws a Book

**DISCLAIMER: **These characters aren't mine. Sorry to disappoint.

Again, there is swearing here, so if that bothers you, I'm sorry.

~~~oOo~~~

Nico was surprised when Hazel sat with him in English the next day. It wasn't even an unpleasant surprise. Hazel smiled at him and commented on how he was still alive, and Nico replied by asking if she'd honestly thought Leo would kill him. She thought about it for a moment before answering that Leo was too sweet to kill anyone, but if he did murder someone it would definitely be Nico. That made him smile a bit. Hazel was easy to talk with, and just be around in comfortable silence.

Class started and was exceptionally boring. The teacher was going on about how disappointed he is in today's youth. Which was unreasonable, really. Sure, most of the morons on the planet sucked, but Nico fit all of the 'perfect human being' criteria that Mr. Brennet was spouting out. He read, and he read the 'right' books in Mr. Brennet's mind, he knew how to speak properly, as well as write with flawless grammar, and he was smart(he just didn't get good grades). After a good ten minutes of listening to Mr. Brennet babble, Hazel rolled her eyes at Nico and scrawled a note on the corner of his paper.

'_what's your schedule?'_

'_Orange day-English, Math, Geography, Lunch, Science. Purple day- Comp. Tech, Greek, Art, Lunch, PE. You?' _ He pushed the paper back towards Hazel when he'd finished. She glanced at it and then smiled widely.

'_Same! I just have Latin when you have Greek. Other than that we have the same classes!' _When Nico read her note, he smiled, and whispered 'awesome' to her. It was strange, having someone he wouldn't rather be in a shack in Timbuktu than be with.

~~~oOo~~~

Nico and Hazel had stuck together through math and geography, and were on their way to lunch. He figured that they'd be sitting with Piper again today. He vaguely wondered if Leo would also be there. He _was_ friends with the girls, afterall. And then Nico realized something.

"Why haven't I been forced to interact with your friends during classes?" Nico asked Hazel. She went slightly pink and bit her lip.

"I don't really have any friends my own age, so I don't have any in class to make you interact with," she mumbled, "But now we're friends, right? And I only have Latin alone now, so it's all good." She shot him a smile, but Nico could see the worried look in her eyes.

"Yeah. We're friends," he smiled warmly and took her hand, the way Bianca used to take his when reassuring him. He watched as the tension in Hazel's shoulders dissipated, and her smile turned from tentative to ecstatic.  
Nico spotted the table he'd sat at the previous day, Piper was already there. And so was Leo. When they got to the table, Nico noticed Leo's eyes fall to his and Hazel's clasped hands, then look up and raise an eyebrow at Nico. Nico narrowed his eyes at him in return, also taking in his appearance(he'd already been gone when Nico woke up). Leo's hair was still helplessly sparkly(glitter's a bitch to get out) and the hickeys and phone numbers still littered his body, although they were faded, and there were even a couple kisses left. He wore a bright orange t-shirt that he'd probably gotten from the student store at some point. Nico assumed that his belt was still empty of tools.

Moments after Nico and Hazel had slid into their place at the table, a tall blond boy seated himself next to Piper, wrapped an arm around her and kissed her on the cheek. When the boy noticed Nico he blinked a few times, clearly confused. Nico thought about being civil and introducing himself. He really did. But he decided against it. So he just sat there awkwardly as he was blinked at. Luckily, a familiar voice came to the rescue before too much awkward blinking occurred.

"Nico! Man, nice to see you," Percy said, thumping Nico on the back and sitting down next to him, pulling a pretty blond girl with gray eyes down on his lap. She laughed and shoved Percy affectionately before scooting into the seat on his other side. "Oh yeah, Nico this is Annabeth," it seemed like he had planned to continue, but Leo cut in, something he did a lot, Nico noticed.

"She's the cleverest witch of her age."

"Was that another reference?" The blond boy asked, looking amused and slightly lost.

"Jesus, Jason. Harry Potter. In reference to the time Sirius Black said to Hermione Granger; 'You're the cleverest witch of your age I've ever met'? No? are you kidding me, man? How do you not know that one?" Leo seemed genuinely baffled. Annabeth shook her head with a laugh and extended her hand to Nico.

"Nice to meet you." Nico shook her hand. Her grip was firm and steady. Nico's dad had always said you could judge a man by the way he shook hands. And if Annabeth's shake was anything to go off of, then she was pretty okay in Nico's book.

The topics at their table became uninteresting to Nico, and he only partially listened. Occasionally Hazel or Percy would start a side conversation with him, but even when he was sitting there completely not involved, he didn't feel the need to run off to a corner. Or not as much as he usually did, anyway. He also noticed that Leo was deliberately avoiding looking at him. That was fine with him. Although, it was odd that Leo glanced at him when he pulled out his book(it was bound to happen sooner or later). Nico guessed he was probably thinking that it was weird and rude for him to read rather than talk with his company. Because it wouldn't be the first time he'd heard that. But he wasn't trying to be rude. He wasn't saying that he was bored or that he didn't want to be around the people he was with(that may usually be the case, but it wasn't always), it was just that when he was reading he felt...safe and like all his worries just left him. And he figured he was doing everyone a favor, because when he was reading he wasn't being awkward and not knowing where to rest his eyes or arms, or what the hell expression he should be wearing(he almost always settled for glare, and he was sure that that made people feel uncomfortable). So Leo could think what he thought, but it wasn't going to make Nico surrender his protection.

Nico was reading _The Adventures Of Sherlock Holmes_ and was rather enjoying himself. Then he saw it. Sticky notes completely covered a good half a page, cramped writing filling them. Nico couldn't help it. He was curious. He read the paragraphs leading up to the sticky notes and then proceeded to read the sticky notes themselves. And it all went downhill from there. Nico didn't even finish reading before he felt himself go red. The sticky notes, as it turned out, held a detailed sex scene between Sherlock Holmes and John Watson.

"Holy shit!" He may have said it louder than he'd meant to. He could hear Leo laughing. Leo. Of course. He also heard the chatter die down and knew everyone was looking at him. "What the fuck? No! Okay, just no! You do not get to just...I can _not _believe that you'd...Who does that? You're fucking messed up!" And then Nico threw his book at Leo. Nico loved his books. He'd never do anything to hurt them. _That's_ how mad he was. Leo blocked his face with his arms and let the book hit him and then fall to his lap. He was still laughing, and everyone else was looking between the two of them, trying to figure out what was going on.

"Oh my god, dude, you should see your face!" Leo paused to laugh, "I can't believe that one got you, it wasn't even one of the best!"

"It wasn't one of the...you mean there are more?" Nico shouted, and if he could have gone more red, he would've.

"More what?" Percy asked.

"More gay porn in my books!" Nico was pretty sure he screeched that out. Percy looked taken aback.

"Excuse you bitch, but not all of it is gay." Leo sniggered. Hazel was fanning herself again, and everyone else was just kinda staring and blinking. And then Percy laughed. And that spurred Leo on, so he laughed harder, and then both of them were laughing so hard that half the lunch room was staring.

"It is _not_ funny!" Nico protested, but all that did was cause Percy to fall into his remaining food from laughter. Then Annabeth laughed, and then Piper, and then Jason. And everyone was laughing. Except for Nico. And Hazel, she looked almost as mortified as Nico did.

"He...he wrote _porn _in your books?" Hazel asked, clearly disturbed by the idea.

"Not just porn, he wrote scarily accurate and detailed porn. Porn that makes you wonder why the hell he's so good at writing it. And he wrote it. In my beautiful book. Apparently book_s._" Hazel's eyes widened and they found their way to Leo, staring at him, scandalized. And that made them all laugh harder. "Oh, fuck you." Nico directed the comment towards Leo as he rose from his seat.

"I thought I didn't need anymore fucking?" Leo stopped laughing just long enough to smirk. Nico grabbed Hazel(he wasn't about to abandon her with a bunch of baboons laughing over the destruction by porn of literature) and left the cafeteria.


	8. In Which Nico Discovers Things

**DISCLAIMER: **I honestly have no clue why you'd even think I am anywhere close to owning these characters. BECAUSE I DO NOT OWN THEM OK.

~~~oOo~~~

Nico and Hazel spent the rest of lunch outside, Nico fuming about his books all the while. In fact, he didn't stop fuming about it all through science, or on his way to his room after school. When he opened the door, he found Leo, rummaging through a package. Nico glared at him and went over to his bed, pulling out his books from where they were stacked under the bed. He begun to flip through them and pull out the modifications that Leo had made.

"That's such a waste! You're throwing away some of my best work!" Leo was grinning and had momentarily looked up from the box. A box, Nico realized, that was addressed to him, and not Leo. He abandoned his porn exterminating and grabbed the box in a not so polite way.

"This is mine," He growled. Leo rose his eyebrows, as if asking 'so what?', "why are you looking through my mail?"

"Because I can. Nothing very interesting. A note from your girlfriend and some books. And, by the way, back off Hazel. She has a boyfriend, and you have a girlfriend, so that's just wrong. Plus, you're a little creep and you don't deserve to even be friends with her."

"I don't have a girlfriend, and I have no interest in making Hazel into mine."

"Don't lie, I saw you holding her hand. And I read the note from your at-home-lover."

"What note?" Nico demanded, looking through the box and finding nothing but a couple of books.

"This one," Leo waved around a piece of paper.

"Give that to me!" Nico reached for it, but Leo was easily able to keep it away from him.

"I see you're anxious to hear from your girlfriend," Leo taunted.

"I do _not _have a girlfriend! And I don't know who'd be writing to me anyway, so give that to me."

"Oh please, it's signed, 'with love, Bianca', you must know-" Leo stopped talking. Probably because of the look Nico was sure was on his face. He grabbed the letter from Leo, glancing at the signature. and there it was.

"She's not my girlfriend," Nico whispered.

"Then who is she?" Leo asked, giving Nico his best confused face.

"My sister." He shouldn't be answering. Not to this boy and certainly not about this.

"You don't like her? What's with the long face?"

"None of your business." Nico was looking through the box, unable to bring himself to read the note from Bianca. Under all the books was another letter. Nico ripped it open and read through it. It was from his mother. It said that the school Bianca had died at had finally gone through her possessions, and had found these things and returned them to the family. She said that it looked like most of it was for him, so she'd sent it along. That explained it. He shoved both letters back into the box and kicked it under the bed.

"Aren't you going to read it? Or look at the books?"

"No." That's how he dealt with things. If he'd known that the items in the box had been Bianca's, he wouldn't have opened it. It would have stayed in its packaging, just like the parcel in his pocket.

"Why?"

"Because I won't, okay?"

"No, not okay. Do you hate your sister or something?"

"Hate her? _Hate her?_ No. Never." He was about ready to break. To shout and cry and stomp and slam doors. But he didn't.

"Well that's the only explanation for not even looking at the things she sent you."

"She didn't send them. She couldn't. She's dead, Leo, she's been dead for four years, and if I don't want to go through my dead sister's things, then I don't have to!" He'd started yelling somewhere along the way, and he could feel tears brimming in his eyes. He didn't want to talk about this. Not with anyone. But Leo was definitely at the bottom of his list to discuss dead relatives with. He turned on his bed to face the wall, sitting crosslegged and trying to stop the tears. And the panic. And all the things he'd been avoiding for four long years. There was a long stretch of silence, then Leo let out a soft laugh.

"I guess we all have issues, right? That's one of the requirements of being at this school. You've got to be messed up somehow, for some reason. And that's yours, isn't it? Your sister. It's funny, because most of us are here for similar reasons. I'm here 'cause of my mom, she died when I was eight. Percy, you know him, he's here because he put his abusive step dad into a coma. His legitimate father supposedly stepped in and got him sent here. Piper has a movie star dad that doesn't have time for her, and got fed up with her grabs for attention and sent her here. Jason came here because he's got a crazy mom and his sister got recruited by some elite school, but she wouldn't go if she had to leave her a brother with their mom alone, so Miss A dropped him here.-"

"Miss A? Was it a school for hunting? When did she go there?" Nico turned around quickly, and Leo was surprised by the sudden avalanche of questions.

"Um yeah, it was. Jason said he came here around four years ago. Why?"

"Who's his sister?"

"Didn't I just ask you a question? Her name's Thalia. She visits Jason sometimes. Actually, come to think of it, she should be coming tomorrow."

"I need to talk to her."

Leo gave him a questioning look, "Okay, but don't try anything funny with her. She'll beat you up, and also she said she's following an old friends legacy and refuses to date."

"I don't want to date her." Nico paused, realizing that he didn't feel like crying or shouting. He glanced at Leo, who was still staring at him with furrowed brows. "Thank you, Leo." Nico didn't know if Leo knew that he was thanking him for not saying sorry, for not being surprised, for talking in that calming way, for sharing his and his friend's problems, telling him he's not alone, for chasing away the tears and the panic and the pain. Maybe he didn't get it right then, but he nodded in acknowledgment.

~~~oOo~~~

During lunch the next day, Hazel asked Nico to wait for her while she dropped in to talk with her step dad. Nico did. And while he waited, he saw Jason and a girl with short black hair and a leather jacket walk down the hall.

"What do you mean you can't talk right now?" The girl demanded.

"I have class right now. So I can't talk, but I'll find you during lunch."

"What am I supposed to do until then?"

"I don't know, Thalia, figure it out." Jason slipped into his class, leaving Thalia to growl at the door. Nico approached her.

"You're Jason's older sister, right?" He asked.

"Yep. And you are?" She asked, scanning Nico curiously.

"Nico Di Angelo." He knew right away from the look she gave as he said his name that she'd known his sister.

"Ah. Bianca's brother. She was a brave girl, a good friend, and a great loss."

"I wanted to ask if you could tell me how she died?" Thalia's eyes opened wide in shock.

"You mean you weren't told?"

"Not really. I know it was a heroic sacrifice, but that's all anyone will say."

Thalia slid down the wall to sit on the floor, "Come on, it's a long enough story that you'll want to sit. I don't bite." Nico sat with her. "There was an attack on our school, right after Bianca arrived, which was only a couple months after me. I guess it seems weird that there was an attack on a school, but it's a special school. It's for the strongest and brightest girls, and we're trained to be soldiers of sorts, so we are seen as a danger, and attacks on the school are relatively common. Anyway, an elite team was needed to take care of it. Zoe, who'd been there ages and was Miss A's right hand gal, was put in charge of the mission. She chose me and Bianca to come with her. Odd choice, if you ask me. Well, it shouldn't have been too hard, you see, all we needed to do was get into the control booth and push a button, that would put up the barriers and cut most the enemies off, and then we'd handle the stragglers. The thing was, the booth was on fire. If someone went in there it would have to be fast, and they wouldn't be coming back. Bianca went before anyone could stop her. She saved the school and everyone in it. But she died. And so did Zoe, one of the men who'd gotten past the barrier stabbed her. Bianca gave me that statue to send to you. And she wanted you to know she loves you. I figured you already know that, but since I'm here, and so are you, I thought I'd let you know." A statue. That's what was riding around in his pocket.

"Thank you for telling me."

"No problem."

"I hear you don't date, to honor an old friend. Would that be because of Bianca?"

"Bianca and Zoe, actually. Most girls at our school chose to give up boys to honor their deaths. Before then, they were the only two. They both had boy troubles in some way."

"Do you know what Bianca's where? She never had a boyfriend, so I don't know how she could have had problems with them." Thalia regarded him for a moment, then nodded.

"Listen kid, I'll tell you if you want to know, but I'll also tell you that you don't want to know."

"I want to know." Nico stared her evenly in the eyes.

"It broke her when she found out, it might do the same to you." Nico laughed, a sharp, humorless laugh.

"I'm already broken, Thalia. Tell me. Please."

"Your dad had an affair." It was simple, but enough to make Nico feel sick.

"When? With whom? Why?"

"After you were born sometime. Bianca found out about it later, obviously. I don't know how she came across it though. With a woman named Marie Levesque, if I remember right. And I don't know, Nico. I wish I did, I wish that there was a good reason to it, I wish I could've known one to tell Bianca, to tell you. But I don't know why he did it."

"Levesque," he muttered, loud enough for Thalia to know he had said something, but not loud enough for her to know what he'd said. But before she could ask, the bell rang, and the two scrambled off the floor so they wouldn't be trampled. Jason came out and found his sister, and Hazel raced out of her step father's office, apologizing for making Nico wait for her and miss lunch. He smiled and said it was nothing, then he grabbed Hazel's hand and led her outside.

"Nico, we need to get to class."

"It can wait. I want to talk to you."

"Why can't talking wait until after class?"

"I think it's important."

"Alright. What is it?" She sighed as she gave in.

"Was your mother's name Marie Levesque?"


End file.
